Often, talent concerts are considered to be a ‘street feat’ that has no place in the house of the Lord.
Many pastors seek to keep church business strictly about teaching the word of God and aim to instill a positive demeanour in both the old and the young congregants.
As a result, many young people keep away from the church and loiter in the streets looking for alternative ways to express themselves. On August 6, House of Fellowship Christian Church tried a different antidote to ensure young people are entertained within the church.
A youth talent concert was staged and different art forms were presented to entertain the audience. The concert saw young people dance to house music – a music genre usually found in taverns.
Young people staged drama performances, performed traditional dance moves, recited poetry and their hearts away that Saturday evening.
Concert organiser and youth pastor Tshepo Motjiyeng said as an organizing committee they had identified youth talent within the church by taking prospective participants through auditions.
“Some of the performers were from the worship team. The Gospel concert was used as an opportunity to raise funds to be used towards building a proper auditorium for our church. Among other presentations for the evening was a motivational talk from our senior pastor Kinsly Ramahala,” said youth pastor Motjiyeng.
The audience comprised youth from neighboring churches and guests from Pretoria, Soweto, Germiston and Hamanskraal.
“It’s the first time we have staged such an event and we are planning to make it an annual youth activity in the church. The concert coincided with the church’s tenth anniversary and was a huge success. We didn’t expect such a turn out considering it was the first time we have had an event of this nature,” said Motjiyeng.
He said he wanted to thank the youth executive committee for their dedication and hard work.
“I also want to thank the music director Neo Machimane and also thank everyone who contributed to the success of this concert.”
Senior pastor and church leader Pastor Kinsly Ramahala said as a church they are living the vision and mission.
“The vision is raising winners for the Kingdom of God. The mission is simply to teach, train and make people realise their potential. The concert is about uplifting young people and showing them that it is possible to achieve great things regardless of your poor background or geographical location.
“It means living in Tembisa does not limit you. You can achieve great things. We thank everyone who participated in the concert. I want to thank the youth pastor for organizing such a great youth concert,” said Pastor Ramahala.
He said he wanted to send a strong message to the youth of Tembiasa.
“They need to believe in themselves and commit their lives to Christ. Despite the negative publicity that churches are getting in the media, churches are still good things for the community,” explained Pastor Ramahala.
